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BALTIMORE, MD – The fifth-ranked North Carolina men’s lacrosse team used a 6-0 run that bridged the second and fourth quarters to turn a 7-4 deficit into a 10-7 lead and the Tar Heels never let ninth-ranked Johns Hopkins closer than two goals in the final quarter of a 13-9 victory at rain-swept Homewood Field Saturday afternoon. North Carolina picked up its third straight victory and improves to 8-2 on the year, while the Blue Jays drop their third consecutive game and slip to 5-3.

Johns Hopkins led 7-4 after the second of Brandon Benn’s two goals with 5:27 remaining in the second quarter and the Blue Jays still led 7-5 at the half after Chad Tutten’s unassisted goal with 90 seconds remaining in the first half for North Carolina.

Johns Hopkins had a golden opportunity to push the lead to three with an extra-man opportunity early in the third, but the Tar Heels held them off and sliced the deficit to 7-6 at the 11:19 mark as Ryan Creighton got loose down the middle and Shane Simpson hit him in stride for an easy goal.

The Blue Jays held the one goal lead for just under five minutes before Jimmy Bitter fired one home to tie the score. Joey Sankey assisted on the goal after he fired a pass from behind the cage with the Blue Jay defense caught out in front.

When Sankey scored while diving from behind the goal at the 3:02 mark, the Tar Heels had their first lead since early in the first quarter; a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Steve Pontrello and R.G. Keenan scored back-to-back goals in a span of just five seconds to give UNC a 10-7 lead the end of three quarters. Keenan’s goal came after he cleanly won the faceoff following Pontrello’s goal.

Johns Hopkins had a chance to get one back in the final 10 seconds of the third quarter, but Kieran Burke went low to stop Benn from eight yards out. Still, JHU trimmed the deficit to 10-8 less the two minutes into the fourth quarter whenConnor Reed dodged and drew a slide before dishing to Ryan Brown, who wasted no time lifting a shot past Burke.

Any hopes for a Blue Jay comeback were dashed in the middle of the quarter when Sankey scored twice in a three-minute span with both goals coming with the stall warning on. A Simpson goal into an empty net while the Blue Jays were chasing was answered by a Holden Cattoni strike in the final five minutes to account for the final scoring.

A back-and-forth first quarter saw the Blue Jays grab leads of 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3 with the first of Cattoni’s three goals with 22 seconds remaining giving the Blue Jays the 4-3 lead at the end of the opening 15 minutes.

A Pontrello goal less than two minutes into the second quarter forced the fourth of four first-half ties before Cattoni’s second goal of the game ignited a three-goal run for the Blue Jays that gave them the 7-4 lead. The first of Benn’s two strikes came just 38 seconds after Cattoni’s as Wells Stanwick found him alone behind the defense in transition and his second goal four minutes later from in tight closed the three-goal run.

Tuton’s goal came four minutes later and ignited the six-goal run that turned the game in the Tar Heels’ favor.

Sankey scored a game-high five goals and added two assists to match his personal best with seven points, while Pontrello (2 goals) and Simpson (1 goal, 1 assist) were UNC’s other multi-point producers. Burke posted 10 saves, including several key stops, including the one on Benn late in the third quarter.

Cattoni led the Blue Jays with his first career hat trick, while Benn (2g), Stanwick (1g, 2a) and Brown (1g, 1a) all added multi-point games for the Blue Jays. Junior Drew Kennedy was again spectacular on faceoffs for Johns Hopkins as he won 20-of-26 with 13 ground balls.

Johns Hopkins will return to action on Friday, April 4 as the Blue Jays will welcome Albany to Homewood Field for the second of three straight home games.

Notes: Kennedy and Sankey each earned the Chris Gardner Player of the Game award. The award is given each year at a selected home game in honor of Gardner, a member of the 1996 Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse team who was diagnosed with cancer while on the team. He lost his battle in 1997 and his mom, Kaki Van Haverbeke, returns each year to present the awards in his honor. An extra dollar is added to the cost of all tickets for the game with the money raised donated to the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, where Gardner received his treatment.

The Game: Johns Hopkins (5-2) returns home for the first of three straight games at Homewood Field as the Blue Jays welcome North Carolina (7-2) to Baltimore.

A Look Back: Johns Hopkins fell for the second week in a row as the Blue Jays dropped an 11-10 overtime decision at Virginia.
North Carolina improved to 7-2 with its second straight win, an 11-8 victory against top-ranked and previously unbeaten Maryland.

Series History: Johns Hopkins and North Carolina are meeting for the 43rd time in a series that dates to a 16-9 Johns Hopkins victory in 1977. The Blue Jays lead the series 24-18, but the Tar Heels have had the better of it lately as UNC has won six of the last seven, including an 11-10 overtime decision in Chapel Hill last season.

These are the Facts: Johns Hopkins enters this week’s game against North Carolina with an all-time record of 938-305-15 (.752). The Blue Jays own nine NCAA titles, 29 USILA titles and six ILA titles for a total of 44 national championships.

Poll Position: Johns Hopkins is ranked ninth in this week’s USILA Coaches Poll and 10th in the Warrior/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. North Carolina enters this week’s game against Johns Hopkins ranked fifth in the coaches poll and fifth in the media poll.

Honoring Chris Gardner: For the 17th straight year, Johns Hopkins will continue its fight against cancer and this weeks’ game against North Carolina is the Blue Jays’ designated game to support the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in honor of Chris Gardner. Gardner was a member of the Blue Jay lacrosse team in 1996 when he was diagnosed with cancer. He received treatment at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center before losing his battle in 1997.
Every year since then, members of the team make visits to the Children’s Center to visit kids who are battling cancer and a game is selected each year to be played in Chris’s honor. One dollar is added to the cost of all tickets for the game and the proceeds from this ticket increase are donated to the Children’s Center in Chris’s honor.
In addition, a player from both teams is honored as the Chris Gardner Player of the Game and Chris’s mom, Kaki Van Haverbeke, will be on hand for the 17th straight year to present the awards.

Champions Day: Head coach Dave Pietramala and the Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse team will welcome the 1959, 1969, 1974, 1979 and 1984 national championship teams for this week’s game against North Carolina. These five teams are celebrating “5-year” anniversaries of their championships and will enjoy a pregame reception next to the Cordish Lacrosse Center and members of the teams will be honored in a special pregame ceremony. These five teams posted a combined 56-5 record in winning the five national championships, with the 1959 and 1969 teams claiming USILA titles, while the 1974, 1979 and 1984 teams won NCAA crowns.

Closing on Mr. Scott: Dave Pietramala picked up his 152nd victory as the head coach at Johns Hopkins with the recent 15-8 victory at UMBC and he continues to close in on the record for most career coaching victories at Homewood. Only Bob Scott, who won 158 games as the head coach at JHU from 1955-74, has won or coached (214) more games than Pietramala at Johns Hopkins.

Career Win Number 175: In addition to notching his 152nd victory as the head coach at Johns Hopkins with the win against UMBC, Dave Pietramala also reached a milestone as the win against the Retrievers was the 175th of his coaching career. In addition to his 152-52 (.746) mark as the head coach at JHU, Pietramala also postd a 23-17 record in three seasons as the head coach at Cornell and now boasts an overall record of 175-69 (.717). Pietramala’s 175 wins rank 10th among active Division I coaches.

New Blue: The Johns Hopkins lineup features six new starters after a large senior class departed Homewood last spring. The six are spread throughout the lineup and include Eric Schneider (G), Rob Enright (D), John Kelly (D), Bronson Kelly(M), Connor Reed (M) and Ryan Brown (A). Brown did start four games at midfield last season, but made the move to his natural attack position this season, and Enright had five career starts through his first two seasons.

New Blue II: In addition to the six new starters in the lineup, the overall Blue Jay roster is also vastly different than a year ago. Gone are 11 seniors who exhausted their eligibility and in their place are 17 freshmen.

Youth Will be Served: Johns Hopkins is fielding one of the youngest rosters in the nation this season as 17 of the team’s 49 players are freshmen and 29 are either freshmen or sophomores. Only nine of the 49 are seniors and two of those nine – Eric Schneider and Phil Castronova – have an extra year of eligibility and are planning to return for the 2015 season.

For Starters: Entering the 2014 season, the entire 49-man Johns Hopkins roster counted a total of 132 combined career starts to its credit. Of those 132, Rob Guida (38), Jack Reilly (30), Brandon Benn (29) and Wells Stanwick (17) accounted 114, or 86.7%. No other returning player had started more than five games for the Blue Jays. By contrast, last year’s 11-man senior class graduated with a combined 321 starts with six of those 11 players earning 45 or more starts during their careers.

An Offensive Group: Johns Hopkins enters this week’s game against North Carolina averaging 12.17 goals per game and the Blue Jays have scored at least 10 goals in every game this season. JHU ranks 10th in the nation in scoring offense, third in assists per game (8.29) and sixth in points per game (21.0).

Sharing the Ball: An effective part of the Blue Jay offense this season has been the ability to move the ball and that has shown up in the percentage of the team’s goals that have been assisted thus far. Through seven games, 58 of JHU’s 89 goals have been assisted, or 65.2%. Only three times since 2003 has Johns Hopkins finished a season with more than 60% of its goals being assisted. The 2003 team assisted on 67.4% of its goals, while the 2004 (64.3%) and 2009 (62.4%) teams also eclipsed the 60% mark.

Extra, Extra: Johns Hopkins converted on four-of-six extra-man opportunities last week at Virginia and is now 11-of-20 (.550) for the year. The Blue Jays rank fourth in the nation in extra-man offense with Brandon Benn (4 EMO goals), Ryan Brown (3) and Holden Cattoni (3) leading the way.

Must be the Speech: There must be something about the speech that head coach Dave Pietramala gives before the Blue Jays take the field at the start of the game and at halftime. For the year, Johns Hopkins holds a 26-17 scoring advantage in the first quarter and a 27-16 scoring margin in the third quarter. In the second and fourth quarters, JHU is a combined +7 in scoring margin (35-28).

Schneider, Defense Growing: While the offense has grabbed a majority of the headlines this season, the Blue Jay defense has been consistent thus far as well. Johns Hopkins is currently ranked 14th in the nation in scoring defense (8.86) and has held five of its seven opponents to nine goals or less. Eric Schneider continues to impress in goal as he sports an 8.45 goals against average and a .559 save percentage.

Holding Them Down: The Blue Jays have held the opposition scoreless for long stretches at key points this season. The seven teams Johns Hopkins has played thus far have nine scoreless droughts of 11 minutes or longer and seven of 15 minutes or longer.

Kennedy Shines: Junior faceoff specialist Drew Kennedy continues to enjoy a standout season for the Blue Jays as he is 109-of-161 (.677) through seven games and also has a team-high 75 ground balls thus far. He ranks fifth in the nation in faceoff winning percentage and first in ground balls per game (10.71) after winning 21-of-25 faceoffs with 15 ground balls against Syracuse and following that with a 16-of-25 performance with 11 ground balls at Virginia. The 21 faceoff wins and 15 ground balls against the Orange are both career highs. Kennedy won 18-of-22 (.818) faceoffs in the season opener against Ohio State and came back and won 16-of-23 with 10 ground balls against Towson. After winning just 1-of-6 in the first quarter, he was 15-of-17 over the final three quarters against the Tigers. In Overtime: With last week’s 11-10 loss at Virginia, Johns Hopkins is now 20-11 all-time in overtime under head coach Dave Pietramala; this includes the 10-9 triple overtime victory against Ohio State in the season opener. The Blue Jays have won four of their last six overtime games dating back to late in the 2011 season.

Poll Position: The Blue Jays are ranked ninth in this week’s USILA Coaches Poll. The Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications Office uses the USILA Poll to represent JHU’s official ranking at the time of a game. Prior to falling out of the top 20 of the USILA Poll on April 26 and May 3, 2010 (JHU was receiving votes in both polls), the Blue Jays had been ranked in the top 20 in 367 consecutive polls dating back to the first poll in 1973.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Freshman Connor Cannizzaro had three points on two goals and an assist, but the No. 1 University of Maryland men’s lacrosse team fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with an 11-8 loss to No. 6 North Carolina in front of 6,135 at Kenan Stadium.

The Terrapins are now 7-1 on the season and 2-1 in ACC play. The Tar Heels improve to 7-2 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

UNC took an early 1-0 lead when Joey Sankey capitalized on an unsettled play, finishing off a feed from Pat Foster with 13:06 on the clock in the first.

Maryland answered right back as the second midfield line put up the first Terrapin goal at the 11:03 mark. Sophomore Henry West found freshman Colin Heacock inside the Tar Heel zone and Heacock was able to get off a quick turn-and-shoot to beat Carolina goalie Kieran Burke.

The Terps tool their first lead of the game with 10:01 left in the first on an unassisted goal by Cannizzaro. He was able to get right to the Carolina doorstep thanks to a terrific pick set behind the Tar Heel goal by freshman Matt Rambo.

North Carolina knotted the score at 2-2 with an extra-man goal by Foster at the 7:26 mark and then the Tar Heels regained the lead on an unassisted goal by Chad Tutton with 4:34 left in the first.

Cannizzaro scored his second of the game, finishing off a cutter off an assist by freshman Tim Rotanz, to tie the game at 3-3 with 7:28 left in the second.

The Terps regained the lead off the ensuing faceoff when junior Charlie Raffa won the ball clean and pushed it into the UNC box. The Carolina defenders wouldn’t come off the Maryland attackmen, but senior long pole Michael Ehrhardt was left alone and he scored his first career goal.

But the lead was short-lived as Carolina got goals by Shane Simpson and Walker Chafee to gain the lead at 5-4 with 3:40 left in the second.

The Carolina advantage would grow to two goals at the 2:34 mark when Spencer Parks was in the right place at the right time to pick up a rebound off of a shot by Jimmy Bitter and put it back in the Terrapin net for the 6-4 Tar Heel lead.

UNC had a chance to build on its lead in the final minute of the first half, but senior goalie Niko Amato stood tall and turned away a shot by Bitter and then scooped but the rebound as the clock wound down.

The second half started out with the 10th faceoff win of the game for Raffa and senior Mike Chanenchuk made it count as he lost his defender near the top of the box and stepped into a big shot that beat Burke topside to make it a 6-5 game at the 14:15 mark.

UNC counters less than two minutes later to up its advantage back to two on an acrobatic goal by Sankey.

Maryland’s defense picked up the offense on the next Terrapin goal. Amato made an easy stop on a shot by Steve Pontrello and quickly found a breaking Brian Cooper with the outlet. Cooper pushed the ball into the Carolina box and cut hard to his left hand and beat Burke for his first career goal at the 9:18 mark.

But Carolina wouldn’t let the Terps get on any kind of run and answered with Simpson’s second goal of the game with 8:15 left in the third to push its lead to 8-6.

The see-saw game continued with Maryland responding with a goal by junior Joe LoCascio at the 3:20 mark of the third. Cannizzaro drew a double-team coming around the back of the cage and slipped the ball to LoCascio, who was then able to step into a big shot from the right alley.

The Tar Heels continued the back-and-forth scoring to start the fourth quarter as Sankey got a step on his defender and slipped the ball under Amato’s stick for a 9-7 UNC lead with 10:21 to play.

Carolina pushed its lead to three for the first time in the game when Bitter scored an unassisted goal at the 9:31 mark for a 10-7 Tar Heel advantage.

The Terrapins refused to give in and cut the Carolina lead back to two on a shovel shot by Heacock off of an assist by Chanenchuk with 8:41 left.

Carolina continued to have the ball bounce its way less than a minute later when Rotanz dropped the ball while attempting a shot on an open net as Burke came out of the cage on a shot by Chanenchuk that bounced off the side of the net and behind the goal. Chanenchuk picked up the loose ball and found Rotanz on the left wing, but Jake Bailey picked up the dropped ball by Rotanz and went all the way down the field to finish the scoring.

Raffa finished the day winning 16-of-23 faceoffs with a game-high eight groundballs, while Ehrhardt had five groundballs and a caused turnover.

Maryland stays with conference play when it hosts No. 10 Virginia on Sunday, March 30. Faceoff is scheduled for noon at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium and the game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

Game Notes:• With today’s 11-8 loss Maryland is now 39-24 all-time vs. North Carolina.
• With two points on a goal and an assist, senior Mike Chanenchuk now has 35 multi-point games for his career.
• With three points on two goals and an assist, freshman Connor Cannizzaro now has six multi-point and four multi-goal games for his career.
• With three points on two goals and an assist, freshman Colin Heacock registered the first multi-point and multi-goal game of his career.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The No. 1 Maryland (7-0) men’s lacrosse team returns to ACC play on Saturday, March 22 when it plays at No. 6 North Carolina (6-2) at Kenan Stadium. Faceoff between the Terps and the Tar Heels is scheduled for 2 p.m.

• The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU and streamed on ESPN3.com and via the WatchESPN app. Booker Corrigan will handle the play-by-play and Ryan Flanagan provides the analysis.

• Maryland enters Saturday’s game on a short week following Tuesday afternoon’s 13-5 win at Michigan. Junior Jay Carlson and freshman Matt Rambo led the Terps with four goals apiece, while senior Mike Chanenchuk continued his torrid scoring pace with four points on two goals and two assists. Chanenchuk leads the team this season with 29 points on 21 goals and eight assists. He is followed closely by Rambo, who has 21 points on 17 goals and four assists. Junior Charlie Raffa has won 67-of-112 (.598) faceoffs this season with a team-best 47 groundballs and four goals. Senior Michael Ehrhardt has made a seamless transition to the long-stick midfield spot and has 27 groundballs, which leads all non-faceoff men, and a team-best 17 caused turnovers. Senior Niko Amato has started every game of his college career (57 straight) and boasts a 6.51 goals-against average this season with a .606 save percentage.

• North Carolina also comes into Saturday’s game on a short week after pulling out a 13-10 home win over Harvard on Tuesday. The Tar Heels boast the No. 2-ranked offense in the nation, scoring 15.3 goals per game. Junior attackman Joey Sankey leads the UNC offense with 32 points on 17 goals and 14 assists. He’s joined by fellow junior attackman Jimmy Bitter, who has 15 goals and seven assists for 22 points. Senior Pat Foster, who has started at attack the past three games after beginning the season on the second midfield, and junior midfielder Chad Tutton also have double-digit goals with 13 each. Sophomore Kieran Burke has started all eight games in net for the Tar Heels and has a 7.49 goals-against average and is saving 57.8 percent of the shots opponents have put on goal. Senior faceoff specialist R.G. Keenan has seen limited playing time so far this season (11/19, .579), but freshman Stephen Kelly has stepped in and won 74-of-121 draws (.612) with 47 groundballs and two goals.

THE COUNT DOWN

10 … Since 2002 Maryland has won 108 of the 117 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .923 winning percentage.
9 … Maryland is 125-26 in games since 2002 when it allows nine goals or less, for an .828 winning percentage.
8 … Prior to this season, only eight other Maryland teams in the program’s 89 seasons started 7-0 and scored at least 10 goals in each of its victories.
7 … Seven Terps have at least 10 groundballs this season, including three of its top four scorers.
6 … Mike Chanenchuk has six points on four goals and two assists in his career vs. UNC.
5 … Maryland and North Carolina are 5-5 in the last 10 meetings with the Terps holding a +5 scoring margin in those 10 games.
4 … The Tar Heels have won the last four regular season games vs. the Terps, but Maryland leads the overall all-time series 39-23.
3 … This is just the third time the Terps and Tar Heels will play with Maryland carrying the No. 1 ranking.
2 … This will be the second time Maryland and UNC have met in Kenan Stadium (2010 ACC Semis).
1 … Maryland is ranked the No. 1 team in the country for the 11th time since 1978.

COACHING MATCH-UP

• John Tillman is in his seventh season as a head coach, and fourth with the Terps, with a 62-34 career record for a 64.6 winning percentage. Tillman is 42-15 (.737) as Maryland’s head coach. He had a 20-19 record in three seasons as the head coach at Harvard.

• Joe Breschi is in his 17th season as a head coach and holds a lifetime record of 157-90 (.634). He is in his sixth year with the Tar Heels and has a 65-27 (.703) record as the Carolina head coach.

• Tillman has an 2-3 record vs. North Carolina as a head coach with all five decisions coming as the Maryland head coach.

SERIES HISTORY VS. NORTH CAROLINA

• Since Maryland and North Carolina began their series in 1964, Maryland holds a 39-23 (.650) advantage. The Terps have won 16 of the last 22, but Carolina has won the last four in the series.

• Maryland was undefeated and No. 1 in the country going into its home game vs. UNC on March 23, 2013, but the No. 14 Tar Heels opened up a 5-2 lead in the first quarter and held off a Terrapin comeback to claim a 10-8 victory. Seniors Kevin Cooper, Owen Blye and Jake Bernhardt each had two goals for the Terps, while junior goalie Niko Amato had 11 saves and four groundballs.

• In 2012 No. 14 North Carolina defended its home field with an 11-10 win over No. 7 Maryland on March 24. Billy Gribbin scored three goals for the Terps and Joe Cummings had four points on two goals and two assists, but the Tar Heels were able to pull out the victory behind three goals from freshman Joey Sankey.

• The rubber match of 2011 took play at Fetzer Field in the first round of the NCAA tournament and it was the unseeded Terps advancing thanks to a convincing 13-6 victory over the No. 8-seeded Tar Heels. Drew Snider led the offensive charge, including scoring on the hidden-ball play pulled off by Grant Catalino and Brian Farrell. Kevin Cooper had a hat trick for the Terrapins, while Curtis Holmes dominated the faceoff X, winning 15-of-22. Niko Amatomade 13 saves in cage.

• Just like in 2010 the Terps answered a regular season loss to Carolina with a victory in the ACC tournament. UNC led 6-2 going into the fourth quarter, but Maryland scored five unanswered goals for a 7-6 win. Owen Blye scored two goals in the run, which was capped off by a behind-the-back game-winner by Grant Catalino.

• The 2011 regular-season meeting saw North Carolina come into Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium and leave with an 11-6 victory. The Terps opened up a 4-1 lead in the first quarter, but an illegal stick penalty on Maryland allowed the Tar Heels to regain their composure and go on a 7-0 run to take command of the game. Grant Catalino led the Terps with three goals. Curtis Holmes was terrific at the face-off X, winning 15-of-20 draws.

• The Terps avenged the loss in the 2010 regular season to UNC by topping the Tar Heels, 13-5, in the semifinals of the ACC tournament in College Park. Grant Catalino led the way, tying his career high with six goals. John Haustallied his first career hat trick for the Terps. Brian Phipps was terrific in cage for Maryland, stopping 13 Carolina shots.

• In the 2010 regular-season meeting it was Carolina earning a 9-7 victory over the Terps on March 20 in Chapel Hill. Marcus Holman subbed for the injured Billy Bitter and scored four goals to lead UNC. Maryland was paced by Ryan Young and Adam Sear with two goals apiece.

• The Tar Heels scored 10 goals in the first half en route to a 16-10 win in the semifinals of the 2009 ACC Tournament at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill. Joe Cummings recorded his first career hat trick for the Terps, while Ryan Young had a three-point day on a goal and two assists.

• Earlier in 2009 the Terps and the Tar Heels played a nail-biter at Ludwig Field and in the end it was Maryland coming away with the 8-7 victory. Dan Groot scored three goals, including the game-winner that deflected off of two Carolina defender sticks, and added an assist. Grant Catalino chipped in with two goals, while Jason Carter played the whole way in cage and stopped 10 Tar Heel shots.

• The Terps entered the 2008 game as the underdog for the first time since 2000, but left the game with their sixth straight victory over the Tar Heels, 13-8. Junior midfielder Jeff Reynolds scored his first career hat trick to lead the Terps. Grant Catalino, Dan Groot, Jeremy Sieverts and Max Ritz each had a goal and an assist in the Maryland victory.

• The Maryland midfield dominated the 2007 game and le the Terps to an impressive 14-8 win over a rising Carolina team at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium. Sophomore midfielder Dan Groot led the Terrapin attack with three goals for his second career hat trick. Freshman goalie Brian Phipps was stellar in the cage for Maryland, stopping 15 Tar Heel shots, while allowing just seven goals.

• The Tar Heels led for nearly the entire game in the 2006 ACC semifinals, but Xander Ritz scored off a brilliant cross-crease pass from Michael Phipps with just 1:25 left in the fourth quarter to give the third-ranked Terps their first lead of the game and the 10-9 victory. Brendan Healy scored three goals and added a pair of assists for Maryland, while Ritz finished with a hat trick and Bill McGlone scored two and assisted on another two scores.

• In the 2006 regular season meeting Joe Walters scored five goals to lead the No. 4 Terps to a 9-6 win at North Carolina on March 25. Sophomore attackman Max Ritz added two goals, while Bill McGlone and Michael Phipps each scored one. Defensively, Harry Alford stopped eight shots and allowed just six goals in net for the Terps.

• Terrapin goalie Harry Alford stopped 20 UNC shots in the 2005 meeting to lead the fourth-ranked Terps to a 9-4 win over Carolina in College Park. Michael Hartofilis turned in the finest performance of his Maryland career with a goal and a career-best three assists. Brendan Healy, Michael Phipps and Joe Walters each scored twice in the Maryland win.

• The 2004 meeting in Chapel Hill saw Maryland pick up a thrilling 10-9 victory at Fetzer Field on March 27. The Tar Heels used a five-goal third quarter to take a 8-7 lead into the fourth, but two goals by Maryland’s Mike Brown and another by Joe Walters gaves the Terps a 3-1 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter and the 10-9 win. Walters finished the game with four goals, while Michael Phipps scored two goals in the victory.

• In the 2003 game at Byrd Stadium, No. 13 North Carolina upset the No. 2 Terps as goalie Paul Spellman had a career-game with 25 saves. Joe Walters scored two goals for the Terps in the defeat. Bill McGlone also added a tally in the win. UNC was paced by Austin Garrison, who had four goals.

• The Terps and Tar Heels have only met twice in NCAA tournament play. Maryland lost the first meeting with the Heels in 1986, 12-10, but won the 2011 first round game, 13-6.

MARYLAND AS THE NO. 1 TEAM

• The Terps took over the top spot in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and the USILA Coaches’ Poll on March 3 after two impressive wins over then-No. 2 Syracuse and then-No. 1 Duke in sucsessive weeks. This is the 11th time Maryland has earned the No. 1 ranking since 1986.

• Overall, Maryland has played 31 games as the No. 1-ranked team and is 22-10 in those games.

• This last time the Terps were the No. 1 team in the rankings was in the 2013 season. After taking over the top spot following its 12-10 win at then-No. 1 Loyola on Feb. 23, the Terps played six games as the nation’s outright top team and was 4-2, defeating Duke, 16-7, in Durham on March 2, topping Stony Brook, 13-7, at home on March 10, going on the road to beat Villanova, 10-7, on March 16 and dropping a 10-8 decision to North Carolina on March 23. After regaining the No. 1 ranking on April 1, the Terps defeated Navy, 11-8, in Annapolis on April 5, but then dropped a 7-4 decision at home to Johns Hopkins on April. 13.

• Prior to the 2013 season, the last time Maryland was the top team in the nation was in March of 2006 after the Terps defeated then-No. 1 Duke, 8-7 on the road in overtime. Maryland defeated Towson as the No. 1 team the following Saturday, but fell, 7-6 in double-OT, to Bucknell on Tuesday, March 14. The Terrapins were still No. 1 in their 9-4 win at UMBC to close out their two-week stay at the top of the polls.

• The longest Maryland has held on to the No. 1 ranking was seven weeks in 1987. That streak came to an end with a 13-8 loss to No. 4 Johns Hopkins in the NCAA Semifinals.

GET TO 10 AND WIN

• One axiom of lacrosse is that if you score 10 goals or more your chances of winning are pretty good. Well, a look at the results since 2002 shows that when Maryland scores 10 or more goals there’s not just a pretty good chance the Terrapins will win; it’s an almost certainty. Since 2002 Maryland has won 108 of the 117 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .923 winning percentage.

• Maryland scored 10, but fell at North Carolina, 11-10, on March 24, 2012 and again came out on the losing end, despite scoring 11 in a 13-11 loss at Colgate on May 5, 2012. The Terps scored 11 vs. Johns Hopkins on April 16, 2011, but the Blue Jays won the game in overtime, 12-11. On April 3 of last season the Terps lost to No. 1 Virginia by a final of 11-10, giving Maryland its only loss when scoring 10 or more goals in 2010. In 2009 the Terps lost to Georgetown, 13-10 on Feb. 21 and lost again when scoring 10 in the ACC Semifinals in a 16-10 defeat at North Carolina. Prior to that, Maryland had not lost when scoring 10 or more goals since dropping an 11-10 decision to Virginia in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C. The Terrapins got to 10 goals in the 100th game against Johns Hopkins, but the Blue Jays took the game 14-10. Virginia is the only team to beat the Terps twice when allowing 10 or more goals. The Wahoos did it first in 2002 with another 11-10 decision.

HOLDING OPPONENTS TO SINGLE-DIGITS

• The Terps have been extremely impressive (winning 92.3 percent of its games since 2002) when it scores 10 or more goals, they have been nearly as impressive when holding opponents to less than 10 goals during that span.

• Since 2002 Maryland is 125-26 in games, for a .828 winning percentage, when it has held opponents under 10 goals. The Terps have played 200 total games since 2002. Maryland has held opponents to nine goals or less 75.5 percent of the time.

SHOOTING TELLS THE STORY

• Since 2005 the Terps are a remarkable 66-4 (.943) when shooting 30% or better in a game. The only four losses were: 13-10 to Georgetown in 2009 (the Terps shot 10 of 30 for 33.3% vs. the Hoyas), 11-10 to No. 1 Virginia on April 3, 2010 (10 of 33 for 30.3%), 12-11 in overtime on April 16, 2011 to No. 3 Johns Hopkins (11 of 28 for 39.3%) and 13-11 at Colgate on May 5, 2012 (11 of 31 for 35.5%).

• Maryland is 7-0 on the year and shot 30% or better in four of its seven victories and just barely missed that mark in the win at Syracuse.

• If 30% is the benchmark, then 40% shooting is in a class all to itself and Maryland has shot 40% or better in 15 games since the start of the 2008 season. Out of those 14 games, Maryland shot 50% or better in four of them.

TERPS ON ESPNU

• Maryland has had 47 games on ESPNU since 2006. Maryland is 26-21 (.553) all-time in games broadcast on ESPNU.

• The Terps are scheduled to play four games (at North Carolina, vs. Virginia, at Johns Hopkins and the ACC tournament semifinals) on ESPNU in 2014.

STREAKING TERPS

• Seven games into the 2014 season and so far and three Terps have notched at least one point in every game.

• Senior Mike Chanenchuk has scored at least one point in each of the seven games so far in 2014 and has a 30-game point scoring streak dating back to the Johns Hopkins game on Apr. 14, 2012. Overall, for his Maryland career Chanenchuk has tallied at least one point in 37 of 39 games.

• Chanenchuk’s point-scoring streak is the second longest since the 2004 season. The only other point-scoring streak longer belongs to Joe Walters, who had at least one point in 45 straight from Feb. 2004 to April 2006. Here’s a look at the Terps’ 20+ game point-scoring streaks since 2004.

• Junior Jay Carlson and freshman Matt Rambo have also registered at least one point in every game this season. Junior Joe LoCascio had his five-game point scoring streak end in the Villanova game.

FRESHMAN HAT TRICKS

• With four goals in his first college game, a 16-3 win over Mount St. Mary’s (Feb. 8), Matt Rambo became just the ninth Maryland men’s lacrosse freshman to record a hat trick since 1998. He followed that up with another hat trick in the 14-3 win over UMBC (Feb. 15) to become the first Terp to record back-to-back hat tricks in his first two collegiate games since Grant Catalino in 2008. Rambo netted his third hat trick of the season with four goals in the Terps’ 13-5 win at Michigan (March 18).

• Connor Cannizzaro scored his first hat trick with three goals in the Terps’ 16-8 win at Syracuse to become the 10th Terp freshman with a hat trick since 1998. This marks just the second time since 1998 that two freshman have recorded hat tricks in the same season. Cannizzaro netted his second career hat trick vs. Villanova on March 14.

• Game-by-game stats haven’t been saved since the 1998 season, so the following chart can only go back to then, but here’s a look at freshman hat tricks (consecutive games are underlined):

• Senior midfielder Mike Chanenchuk scored five of the Terps’ 10 goals in the team’s 10-6 win over No. 1 Duke on March 1, 2014. That performance marks just the ninth time since 1998 that a Maryland player scored at least 50 percent of the team’s goals in a victory (with a five-goal minimum). Chanenchuk is the first Maryland player since 1998 to accomplish the feat at home.

• Here’s a look at Terps who have scored 50% or more of the team’s goals (min. 5 goals) in wins since 1998:

• The Terps boast an all-time record of 754-253-4 (.748), dating back to the first varsity team in 1924 (a team was not fielded in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II). Maryland has finished every one of its previous 88 seasons with a .500 or better record, including last season when the Terps went 12-6. The program reached the 700-win milestone with a 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 at Ludwig Field and became just the fourth program with 750 wins with a 16-8 win at No. 2 Syracuse on Feb. 22, 2014.

• During the decade of the 2000s, Maryland went 111-49 for a .694 win percentage, making it the winningest decade in Terrapin lacrosse history. In the decade of the 1990s, Maryland posted a 95-47 record. The .669 winning percentage matched Maryland’s win percentage of the 1980s when the Terps went 83-41 and also compiled a .669 win percentage. So far, Maryland is 54-19 in the 2010’s for a .740 winning percentage.

THE 700 CLUB

• Maryland’s 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 was the program’s 700th victory in 84 seasons of varsity men’s lacrosse. The Terps join Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Navy, Army and Cornell as the only programs with 700 or more Division I wins.

• Two things that make Maryland’s accomplishment all the more impressive is that the Terps reached the 700-win plateau in just their 84th season. Only Syracuse reached win No. 700 in as few seasons, but it took the Orange 53 more games than Maryland. In fact, Maryland needed only 940 games to reach 700 wins and only Johns Hopkins needed fewer games (932) to hit the historic number, but the Blue Jays did so in their 105th season.

• Maryland’s 18-6 win over the Colgate on May 4, 2013 extended the Terps’ streak of double-digit win seasons to 11, which is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse. (Special thanks to Patrick Stevens of the D1scource.com).

• There are only four programs with a current streak of at least five-straight 10-win seasons:

• Cornell’s string of seven-straight 10+ win seasons came to an end in 2012 with a 9-4 final mark. Virginia’s streak of eight-consecutive seasons with 10+ wins ended in 2013 with a 7-8 record, while Siena saw its run of six 10-win seasons end with an 8-9 mark this season.

A FAMILY AFFAIR

• Many school’s refer to their sports programs as families, but the Maryland men’s lacrosse program is truly a family affair. Since 2001, the Terps have had 13 sets of brothers, including three on this season’s roster, don the red and black together for at least one season.

• The 2014 season is the first since 2000 that the Terps have not had a brother combination on the roster.

FIRST TIME OPPONENTS

• Coming into 2014 Maryland has played 78 different opponents in its 89 seasons. The 2014 season added Michigan to that list. In the Terps’ 79 first-time meetings Maryland is 75-4 (.949) in those games. Adelphi (12-13, 1982), Army (0-3, 1923), Syracuse (3-10, 1927) and Yale (3-5, 1925) are the only schools to beat the Terps the first time the schools met on a lacrosse field.

MARYLAND IN SEASON OPENERS

• Maryland has an 85-3-1 (.961) lifetime record in season openers dating back to the 1924 season. The Terps have won their last 19 openers and 26 of the last 27, with the only loss coming to Duke in 1993, when they fell to Duke 9-5 on March 6.

• After losing their 1925 opener to Yale, 5-3, the Terps went on to win 40 consecutive season openers from 1926 through 1967. The streak was broken when Maryland tied Princeton, 6-6, in the 1968 opener. Following the deadlock, Maryland went on to win its next 14 openers, giving the Terps a 54-0-1 record over a 57-year span (Maryland did not field a team in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II.)

21 STRAIGHT IN SEASON OPENERS

• After beating Mount St. Mary’s to open the 2013 season the Terps have an 20-game winning streak in season openers. Five of those wins came against Villanova (1994-98) and the last nine over Denver, Mount St. Mary’s (three times), Air Force, Hobart, Duke, Georgetown (four times), Bellarmine (twice), Presbyterian, Detroit Mercy and Hartford. Over the 21-year stretch, Maryland outscored its foes 306-108 (an average score of 14.6-5.1) in those games.

• The Terps have not allowed more than seven goals to any opponent in a season opener over the last 21 years. Maryland has not allowed an opponent to score 10 or more goals in a season opener since Syracuse beat the Terps, 16-13 on March 9, 1983.

FOUR TAKEN IN MLL DRAFT

• Led by senior defender Michael Ehrhardt, four Maryland men’s lacrosse student-athletes were chosen in the 2014 Major League Lacrosse collegiate draft.

• Senior midfielder Mike Chanenchuk was the next Terrapin off the board, also joining the Hounds as the 11th overall selection.

• The third Terp to be selected was senior goalie Niko Amato, becoming the first Terp to join the Florida Launch, with the 29th overall selection.

• The final Terp to be drafted was senior short-stick defensive midfielder Brian Cooper, who earned the distinction of being 2014’s MLL equivalent of “Mr. Irrelevant” as the final selection of the draft, going with the 64th overall selection to the Chesapeake Bayhawks.

FIVE TERP ALUMS SELECTED FOR TEAM USA

• Five Maryland men’s lacrosse alumni were named to the 30-man roster for the U.S. National Team that will compete at the 2014 FIL World Championships from July 10-19 in Denver.

• Jesse Bernhardt (2013), Dan Burns (2011), Jeff Reynolds (2009), Drew Snider (2012) and Lee Zink (2004) made the team, which was selected from an original pool of 98 players through a seven-month selection process.

• Maryland’s five selections are tied for the most of any college program with Johns Hopkins, which also has five alums among the 30-man roster.

2014 TEAM CAPTAINS

• Four players have been named team captains for the 2014 season. The quartet, which was selected by a combination of team vote and coaches’ input, consists of seniors Tyler Adelsberger, Niko Amato, Mike Chanenchukand Michael Ehrhardt.

BIG TEN LACROSSE STARTS IN 2015

• The University of Maryland’s men’s lacrosse team will compete in the Big Ten Conference beginning with the 2015 season, following an announcement from the conference office on June 3, 2013 that the Big Ten has secured six men’s teams when Johns Hopkins was accepted as a sport affiliate member for men’s lacrosse only beginning with the 2014-15 academic year to give the Big Ten six men’s programs, joining Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers.

• The six programs that will comprise Big Ten men’s lacrosse boast 56 national championships, with schools that have competed for more than a century. Johns Hopkins has been an independent since 1883 and leads all schools with 44 national championships. Maryland has claimed 11 national titles, while Rutgers has also won a national championship. The Scarlet Knights launched men’s lacrosse in 1887, followed by programs starting in 1913 for Penn State, 1924 for Maryland and 1953 for Ohio State. Michigan instituted a men’s lacrosse program in 2012. Maryland, Ohio State and Penn State each qualified for the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship in 2013, with the Buckeyes advancing to the quarterfinals.

• North Carolina leads the all-time series 121-57, including a 57-16 mark at home against the Terps. The Terrapins won the inaugural ACC meeting between the teams on Dec. 18, 1954, as they pulled away for a 70-60 victory in Chapel Hill.

• The Terps mounted a 14-2 run to begin the second half and never looked back as they defeated Virginia Tech, 80-60, Saturday in Blacksburg, Va. Maryland shot over 50 percent for the second consecutive game, as Seth Allennotched a season-high seven assists in addition to 16 points.

• The matchup pits the conference’s top rebounding teams against each other, as North Carolina ranks first in the league with 41.3 rebounds per game and Maryland is second (38.2/g). The Terps are 11-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play when outrebounding their opponent.

• Junior Dez Wells has been sensational for the Terps over the last three games, averaging 19.7 points on 70 percent (19-of-27) shooting. He has shot 87 percent (20-of-23) from the charity stripe during that span.

• Head coaches Mark Turgeon and Roy Williams, who have a strong personal relationship, have met six times over the last two seasons. Junior Nick Faust is averaging 12.7 points in six career games against the Tar Heels, including three performances of 16 points or more. Dez Wells averaged 18 points on 53 percent shooting in three meetings last year.Scouting North Carolina
North Carolina (14-7, 4-4 ACC) has won three consecutive games and four of its last five since beginning 0-3 in ACC play. The Tar Heels’ four victories in conference games have come by an average of 14.3 points, including a 14-point win over NC State on Saturday. UNC has strong victories against perennial powerhouses Kentucky and Michigan State, but also fell to UAB.
Sophomore Marcus Paige leads the Heels with 16.7 points/g in a team- high 35.6 minutes/g. Paige is lethal from the free throw line, shooting a conference-best 91 percent (84-of-92).
North Carolina leads the ACC with 41.3 rebounds/g, in addition to 14.71 offensive rebounds/g. The Tar Heels are also second in the ACC in points (76.0/g), trailing only Duke (81.9/g).

Back to the ‘Wells’
Junior Dez Wells continued his incredible play with a 19-point performance at Virginia Tech, downing the Hokies on 6-of-9 shooting (7-of-8 FT’s) to lead the Terps to victory.
Wells has been on fire over the last three games, averaging 19.7 points on 70 percent (19-of-27) shooting. He has also shot 87 percent from the free throw line during that span.
His most recent performance piggybacks his spectacular display against Miami, when he scored all 21 of his points in the second half on 7-for-7 shooting. Every shot Wells took went in the basket (6-for-6 FT’s), including the game-winning 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds remaining.

Statistically Speaking

Junior Evan Smotrycz has continued to shoot the ball well, shooting 55 percent (67 percent from 3-pt range) on 16-of-29 shooting over the last three games. He shot 9-of-36 (25 percent) in the previous three games.

Sophomore Jake Layman is shooting 50 percent over his last three games, averaging 14.3 points during that span.

Dez Wells has scored in double-figures in 17 of his last 18 games, and is averaging 19.7 points on 70 percent shooting over his last three games.

Maryland has shot over 48 percent in three straight ACC games for the first time in three seasons, last accomplishing the feat during the 2010-11 season.

The Terps are 10-1 when leading at the half, and also 10-1 when holding opponents under 70 points.

A Look Back: Dec. 18, 1954
The inaugural ACC meeting between Maryland and North Carolina took place on Dec. 18, 1954, when the Terps fought to a 70-60 victory in Chapel Hill. The Baltimore Sun game recap noted “Maryland controlled the backboards and threw up a defense that chilled North Carolina…”
Bob Everett led the Terrapins with 20 points, while teammate Frank Fuqua added 14. Tar Heel star Lennie Rosenbluth, the ACC’s leading scorer at the time, was held to 15 points on five field goals.
Maryland opened a 37-16 halftime advantage, as it held off a late North Carolina flurry to secure the victory. A total of five players fouled out in the game.

Terps Cruise Past Virginia Tech
Maryland guard Dez Wells scored 19 points to lead the Terrapins to an 80-60 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday.
Maryland (13-9, 5-4 ACC) shot 51.8 percent (29 of 56), won its second in a row and beat the Hokies for the fourth-straight time. Wells shot 6-of-9 from the floor.
Maryland got 3-pointers on its final two possessions – from Seth Allen and Jake Layman – to take a 43-35 lead at halftime.
The Terrapins mounted a 14-2 run to grab a 17-point lead and take control. Wells scored four points in the run, including a one-handed dunk that prompted a Virginia Tech timeout with 16:06 remaining. Nick Faust’s 3-pointer capped the run and gave the Terrapins a 57-40 lead with 14:51 to go.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Freshman righthander Trent Thornton came out of the bullpen to record his eighth save of the season as No. 1 North Carolina (54-8) held off a comeback by the Tigers (30-29) to remain undefeated in the NCAA Regionals with an 8-5 victory over Towson at Boshamer Stadium on Saturday night.

The Tar Heels, who have won seven games in a row, are now one victory away from winning the Chapel Hill Regional and advancing to the Super Regionals next weekend. Towson, which had its five-game winning streak snapped, will play Florida Atlantic in an elimination game at Boshamer Stadium on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.

The winner of the Towson-Florida Atlantic game will face the Tar Heels at 6:00 p.m. in what could be the regional championship game.

Junior lefthander Kent Emanuel was virtually unhittable through the first five innings as the Tar Heels built a 5-0 lead. Through the first five innings, Emanuel faced the minimum 15 batters. He allowed a single to sophomore centerfielder Richie Blosser in the third inning and a single to third baseman Zach Fisher in the fourth inning. But, he immediately picked both runners off base.

“Give credit to Kent Emanuel,” said Towson Coach Mike Gottlieb. “He gave us absolutely nothing for five innings. He was throwing three pitches for strikes and he made us look bad a number of times. He did a great job mixing his pitches and got the big outs when he needed them.

“One of the biggest outs he got was in the sixth inning when we had two runners on base and two outs with Kurt Wertz at the plate. He struck him out on an off-speed pitch that froze Kurt. It was a big out at the time because a base hit by Wertz makes it a much closer game.”

Senior first baseman Cody Stubbs gave the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead in the second inning when he blasted a solo home run over the rightfield fence. It was the only hit that junior righthander Brandon Gonnella allowed over the first three innings.

In the fourth inning, Gonnella ran into trouble. Freshman Landon Lassiter, the Tar Heels’ designated hitter, opened the inning by drawing a walk. After he reached second base on a wild pitch, Gonnella retired senior third baseman Colin Moran on a fly ball to rightfield. When freshman rightfielder Skye Bolt also drew a walk, North Carolina had two runners on base with one out.

Lassiter and Bolt moved into scoring position when Stubbs grounded out to second base. However, sophomore shortstop Michael Russell gave the Tar Heels a 3-0 lead when he drilled a two-run single into left field. After junior catcher Brian Holberton followed with a single, senior catcher Andrew Parker came up with another big play. While Gonnella was pitching to sophomore second baseman Mike Zolk, he picked Holberton off first base to end the rally.

In the fifth inning, the Tar Heels extended their lead to 4-0. Zolk led off the inning with a double to rightfield. After junior leftfielder Jordan Parks reached base on a bunt single, the Tar Heels had runners at the corners. Senior centerfielder Chaz Frank lifted a foul ball down the left field line where sophomore leftfielder Peter Bowles made a sliding catch. Zolk alertly tagged up on the play and scored just seconds ahead of Bowles’ throw to the plate. After Lassiter singled, Moran grounded into a double play to end the inning as the Tigers turned their 80th double play of the season.

With two outs in the sixth inning, Russell singled through the left side. When Holberton doubled down the right field line, Russell came around to score from first base. Zolk grounded out to first base.

Emanuel took a two-out shutout into the sixth inning. With one out, Blosser doubled to left centerfield. After junior shortstop Hunter Bennett struck out. Fisher drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Junior second baseman Pat Fitzgerald followed with a single to right field, driving in the first run of the game for the Tigers. But, Emanuel struck out junior designated hitter on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Tigers staged another rally against Emanuel. Bowles led off the seventh with a double to left center field. After junior rightfielder Dominic Fratantuono struck out, sophomore first baseman Brendan Butler lined a single to centerfield, scoring Bowles to make it a 5-2 lead. But, Emanuel got out of the jam by getting Parker to ground into double play to end the uprising.

With their lead trimmed to 5-2, the Tar Heels added two more runs in the eighth inning. Stubbs led off with a single, his second base hit of the game. Russell came through another clutch hit and doubled down the leftfield line, driving in Stubbs to give North Carolina a 6-2 advantage. Russell reached third base when Holberton grounded out to second base for the first out of the inning. With Russell on third base, the Tigers pulled their infield in to try and prevent another run from scoring. However, when Zolk hit a high chopper to Bennett at shortstop, Russell was able to score while Bennett threw Zolk out at first base.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Tigers continued to show the resilience they displayed all season. With one out, Bennett doubled to rightfield. After Fisher drew a walk, Fitzgerald was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Wertz. On a 2-0 pitch from Emanuel, Wertz singled to rightfield, driving in two runs to pull Towson to within 7-4. A sacrifice fly by Bowles enabled Fitzgerald to score and cut the lead to 7-5. When Fratantuono singled to centerfield, the Tigers had the tying runs on base.

At that point, Coach Mike Fox went to the bullpen and brought in his ace closer, Thornton. He pitched out of the jam by retiring Butler on a fly ball to centerfield.

In the ninth inning, the Tar Heels added a run off relief pitcher Nick Cioffi. With one out, Lassiter singled to rightfield. A single by Moran enabled Lassiter to reach third base. When Bolt hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, Lassiter scored to give the Tar Heels an 8-5 lead. Cioffi finally retired the side by getting Russell on a fly ball to centerfield.

In the bottom of the ninth, Thornton retired the Tigers in order to prevent any comeback.

“Obviously, for us, it was a case of too little, too late,” added Gottlieb. “This is not a game we should have won – but it is a game we could have won. If we could have gotten one or two hits in the right spot, we might still be playing.”

Emanuel, now 11-3 on the season, earned the win for the Tar Heels. He pitched 7.2 innings and allowed five runs on nine hits. He walked two and had eight strikeouts. Thornton picked up the final four outs of the game to record his eighth save.

UNC outhit the Tigers by a 13-10 margin. Russell led the Tar Heels with three hits, two runs scored and three runs batted in. Lassiter had a pair of hits and scored two runs while Stubbs went two-for-four with a home run and two runs scored. Holbertson also had two hits and drove in a run.

Gonnella suffered his fifth loss of the season for the Tigers. He pitched 7.2 innings and allowed seven runs on 11 hits with three walks and one strikeout. Two of his walks were very costly as they led to a pair of Carolina runs in the fourth inning when the Tar Heels took a 3-0 lead.

Blosser led the Tigers with three hits and scored a run. He is batting .714 in the Tigers’ two NCAA Tournament games. He was the only Tiger with more than one hit. Fisher had a single and drew the only two walks that Emanuel allowed.

TIGER TALES: Wertz’s two-run single lifted his seasonal RBI total to 65, the top mark on the team … When Fitzgerald singled in the sixth, it marked the 29th consecutive that he reached base … Fitzgerald, who now has a .990 fielding percentage, played a solid defensive game with two putouts and five assists … He also started the double play in the fifth inning … Since the Tigers played the game on June 1, it was the first Towson University intercollegiate athletic event ever played in the month of June.

With the win, North Carolina beat Towson for the 13th game in a row … The Tar Heels lead the all-time series, 26-2.

Sophomore righthander Paul Beers will try to keep the Tigers’ season alive on Sunday afternoon when the Tigers face Florida Atlantic at 1:00 p.m. … Florida Atlantic beat Canisius on Saturday afternoon to remain alive in the NCAA regional.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Riding a five-game winning streak, the Tigers face their toughest challenge of the season when the Colonial Athletic Association champions play the top-ranked team in the nation, North Carolina, in the second round of the NCAA Regionals at Boshamer Park on Saturday evening at 6:05 p.m.

The Towson-UNC game can be seen on ESPN3 http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/id/950913/ncaa-baseball-regionals-presented-capital-one-site-1-game-4 and will also be broadcast on www.TowsonTigers.com with Spiro Morekas, Damon Lewis and Dan O’Connell calling the action.

The Tar Heels, who won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship last week, are seeking their 12th NCAA regional title this week. North Carolina has made five appearances in the College World Series since 2006. Veteran Coach Mike Fox led North Carolina to second place in the College World Series in 2006 and 2007 as well as a third place showing in 2009.

The Tar Heels seem to have a complete team. The Tar Heels lead NCAA Division I in scoring, averaging 8.2 runs per game. At the same time, UNC’s pitching staff has a 2.52 E.R.A., a mark that ranks the Tar Heels fourth in the nation.

Senior first baseman Cody Stubbs and junior third baseman Colin Moran are the Tar Heels’ top offensive players and they are both All-Americans. Stubbs was the MVP of the ACC Tournament last week and is batting .362 with 22 doubles, four triples, seven home runs and 72 runs batted in. Moran is hitting .357 with 13 homers and a school record 84 RBI’s.

Junior lefthander Kent Emanuel is expected to pitch for the Tar Heels. He has a 10-3 record with a 2.11 E.R.A. In 110.2 innings of work, he has 22 walks an 79 strikeouts. Emanuel has pitched five complete games, including two shutouts. He was named as the ACC Pitcher of the Year.

The Tar Heels, who are now 53-8 on the season, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Regional with a 6-3 victory over Canisius on Friday evening. North Carolina has won six games in a row.

When the Tigers face North Carolina on Saturday night, they will be playing against the number one-ranked team in the nation for the first time ever.

Towson is coming off a 7-2 victory over No. 23 Florida Atlantic in the first round of the NCAA regional on Friday afternoon. The Tigers are now 3-4 against nationally-ranked teams this season. Towson dropped three games to No. 30 Pittsburgh and a 7-1 decision to No. 5 Virginia. The Tigers won two of three games from North Carolina Wilmington inlate April when the Seahawks were ranked 21st in the nation.

Junior righthander Brandon Gonnella is expected to pitch for the Tigers on Saturday evening. The Tigers’ regular centerfielder, Gonnella has a 4-4 record and a 5.22 E.R.A. with two saves. In 69 innings of work, he has issued only 23 walks and has 56 strikeouts. Gonnella did not play in the NCAA opener on Friday.

After their 11-hit performance against FAU, the Tigers are batting .387 with 54 runs scored in five post-season games.

Junior rightfielder Dominic Fratantuono is swinging a hot bat in the post-season. He has a .556 batting average and a .682 on-base percentage. In the last five games, Fratantuono has scored seven runs and has eight runs batted in.

One of the heroes of the Tigers’ win over Florida Atlantic, senior catcher Andrew Parker is batting .471 in the post-season with three homers and nine RBI’s. Against Florida Atlantic, he blasted a monstrous three-run homer in the sixth inning.

The Tigers will be playing North Carolina for the 28th time. Towson has a 2-25 record against the Tar Heels, positing wins over UNC in 2000 and 2001. The teams played an annual two-game series in Chapel Hill from 1997 to 2007 as part of Towson’s spring trip. North Carolina has won the last 12 meetings.

The winner of the Towson-North Carolina game advances to Game 6 of the regionals on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. The loser of the Towson-UNC game plays the winner of the Florida Atlantic-Canisius which is being played at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Maryland (22-1) narrowly missed out on its fifth perfect season in program history and fell in the championship game for the second time in three seasons by one goal. Freshman Taylor Cummings and senior Katie Schwarzmann led the way for the attack with a hat trick each and Brooke Griffin tallied five points on two goals and three assists.

The Terps faced their first halftime deficit of the season but were able to rebound with an outstanding showing in the second period, outscoring the Tar Heels 6-3 in the period.

North Carolina (18-3) began the contest – which was the third meeting between the two teams this season – with three unanswered goals to give Maryland its largest deficit since a regular season loss at UNC April 7, 2012.

Cummings continued to shine in her first final four appearance with a goal at 24:41 to shrink UNC’s lead to two but a goal by Aly Messinger a minute later gave the Tar Heels a 4-1 cushion.

Erin Collins sunk a free position after winning a hard-fought draw control at 23:29 but UNC answered back with another Messinger tally at 18:36.

A free position goal by Cummings and a top-shelf blast by Schwarzmann within 14 seconds of each other in the 17th minute set the score at 5-4 before back-to-back Cannizzaro scores extended Carolina’s advantage to 7-4 with 13:40 to play in the opening stanza.

Both teams exchanged goals twice – including scores by Beth Glaros and Griffin – for a 9-6 UNC lead at the half. It was the most goals allowed by Maryland in the first half this season.

But the Terrapin attack erupted out of the break for a ferocious 5-0 run to give Maryland its first lead of the game. Led by two scores from Schwarzmann, the Terps tallied all five goals in the first 10:05 of the period and held the Tar Heel offense off the board for nearly 17 minutes for an 11-9 cushion.

Brittney Coppa capped her hat trick with a score at 18:23 to snap the drought and squeeze the lead to one and Cannizzaro penetrated the middle for an 11-11 tie six minutes later.

Cannizzaro notched her fourth goal of the night on a free position to give UNC the 12-11 advantage but it would be Maryland’s top offensive threat Aust who would make a terrific move on the corner for the game-tying score with 3:51 remaining to force overtime.

It was the first overtime game for Maryland since May 1, 2011 at Dartmouth and what ensued would be the longest NCAA championship game in the sport’s history.

The Terps were able to get three shots off in the first overtime but Cummings’ shot hit the post and a pair of solid looks by Glaros were saved by Carolina goalie Megan Ward.

Kasey Howard – a senior who finished her career 22-1 as a starter for the Terps – came up huge in the second overtime, recording three big saves to push the game into a third extra period.

After another Ward save, Carolina was successful in the clear and a Sammy Jo Tracy score out of transition sealed the Tar Heels’ first national championship.

“Congratulations to UNC,” head coach Cathy Reese said. “That was a great game. This team played so hard, both teams did. They left their hearts out there.”

The marathon contest was the Maryland finale for eight seniors – Schwarzmann, Aust, Howard, Iliana Sanza, Melissa Diepold, Sam Barber, Camilla Hayes and Kristen McAfee. The class ends their Terrapin career with five ACC championships, one national title, four NCAA Final Four appearances and an 84-8 overall record.

NOTES:

With one assist on the night – senior Alex Aust is tied for second all-time in both career assists (132) and single-season assists (55) in Maryland history

Maryland played in its nation-leading 17th NCAA title game.

Katie Schwarzmann ends her career ranked third in goals (229) and points (304) in program history.

VILLANOVA, Pa. – The quest for a 12th national championship concludes Sunday when top-seeded Maryland battles North Carolina in the 2013 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.

The Terps (22-0) edged Syracuse 11-10 to land t in their nation-leading 17th NCAA title game.Kelly McPartland tallied three second half goals to lead Maryland offensively while a stellar defensive effort held the Orange scoreless the final 18:31 of the contest.

Maryland defeated North Carolina 14-13 in the regular season meeting in College Park April 6 and topped the Tar Heels 12-8 in the ACC championship game in Chapel Hill April 28.

Scouting The Terps
· Maryland hopes to win its first national championship since 2010 when it faces North Carolina Sunday.

· Alex Aust has led the Maryland attack with team-highs in goals, assists and points. She is joined by Brooke Griffin and reserves Kristen Lamon and Halle Majorana to form one of the top scoring offenses in the nation, averaging over 15 goals per match in 2013.

· Maryland’s deepest position is certainly the midfield where it returned eight players from last year’s squad including all-everything Katie Schwarzmann, who spent the majority of the offseason training with the U.S. women’s national team in preparation for the 2013 FIL World Cup. Freshman Taylor Cummings has made a seamless transition to the college game and leads the Terps in draw controls.

· The Maryland defense is led by reigning IWLCA National Defender of the Year Iliana Sanza. Other key contributors to the back is senior Melissa Diepold, sophomores Shanna Brady and Megan Douty and rookie Alice Mercer.

· Senior Kasey Howard has worked hard to fill the void left by four-year starter Brittany Dipper in the goal. She has four double-digit save performances, including a career-best 14 against Penn State.

Scouting The Tar Heels
· North Carolina dropped Northwestern 11-4 to advance to the national championship game.

· Tewaaraton finalist Kara Cannizzaro leads the Tar Heels with 57 goals and 20 assists. Abbey Friend is a quality finisher for the UNC offense with 47 scores in 2013.

· Five players boast 20 or more draw controls, led by Jessica Griffin’s 39.

· Maryland defeated North Carolina 14-13 in the regular season meeting in College Park and topped the Tar Heels 12-8 in the ACC championship game in Chapel Hill.

Maryland and the NCAA Tournament

· Maryland leads the nation with 29 appearances in the tournament. The Terps are also tops with 54 wins, 17 championship game appearances and 10 NCAA titles.

· Maryland is competing in its NCAA-best 21st final four.

The Terps Advance to Title Game
· Kelly McPartland scored three second half goals to lead top-seeded Maryland to its 17th NCAA title game with an 11-10 victory against Syracuse in the semifinals of the 2013 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship Friday.

· Maryland reaped the benefits of six different goal-scorers on the day and put on a staunch defensive effort in the second half, holding Syracuse scoreless in the final 18:31 of play.

Schwarzmann Lands in 300 Club
· With a four-point showing against Syracuse in the national semifinals, Katie Schwarzmann is now a member of Maryland’s elite 300-point club.

· The senior is third in points (301) in Maryland career annals.

Maryland Tops Duke, Advances to Final Four
· Senior Tewaaraton finalist Alex Aust led top-seeded Maryland to a 14-9 victory over Duke in the quarterfinals of the 2013 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship.

· Aust recorded five goals and added two assists. The Sterling, Va., native also moved into third all-time in points (119) in single season history at Maryland.

· Defensively, senior Kasey Howard recorded seven saves in the cage. Aust, Katie Schwarzmann and Taylor Cummingscombined for 10 ground balls. Cummings and fellow freshman Alice Mercer led the way with two caused turnovers each.

· The Terps were led by hat tricks from Brooke Griffin, Beth Glaros and Taylor Cummings. Katie Schwarzmann – who was named ACC Championship Most Valuable Player for the second straight season – tied a championship game record with four assists against the Tar Heels.

· In addition to Schwarzmann, Beth Glaros, Aust, Griffin, Cummings, and Howard were tabbed to the all-tournament team.

Four Terps Named IWLCA First Team All-Americans
· Alex Aust, Taylor Cummings, Iliana Sanza and Katie Schwarzmann were named IWLCA First Team All-Americans.

· The IWLCA will honor the 48 National All-Americans at the IWLCA All-American banquet on May 25, 2013 at the Radisson Hotel Valley Forge in King Prussia, Pa.

· The 13th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony will be held May 30 at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC. The reception begins at 6:30pm and the ceremony will start at 8pm.

· Seniors Katie Schwarzmann, Alex Aust, Iliana Sanza and freshman Taylor Cummings were all named to the First Team All-South Region, while redshirt sophomore Brooke Griffin and freshman Alice Mercer earned second team honors.

· Schwarzmann and Sanza each won their second straight offensive and defensive player of the year honor, respectively. Cummings was tabbed freshman of the year and Reese snagged her sixth career coach of the year award.

Perfection
· With a 22-0 record, Maryland is seeking to complete its fifth undefeated season in program history.

· The Terps were also unbeaten in 1995, 1996, 1999, and 2001.

· Maryland fell in the national semifinals to North Carolina in 2009 to thwart a perfect season.

Five Terps Land on All-ACC List
· The No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Maryland women’s lacrosse team placed five student-athletes on the 2013 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Team.

· Katie Schwarzmann headlined the list, becoming only the third player in league history to be named All-ACC four times in a career. She was joined on the list by fellow seniors Alex Aust and Iliana Sanza, redshirt sophomore Brooke Griffin and freshman Taylor Cummings.

Terps Clinch Top Seed in ACC Tourney with Win vs. #2 North Carolina
· The No. 1 Maryland women’s lacrosse team clinched at least a share of the ACC regular season title with a 14-13 victory against No. 2 North Carolina.

· The Terps were led by senior Katie Schwarzmann and freshman Taylor Cummings, who recorded five and four goals, respectively. Brooke Griffin added three assists.

· Kasey Howard was spectacular in goal, tallying a double-digit save performance with 11. Cummings led the way with six draw controls and Alice Mercer added three in a breakout performance for the rookie defender.

Stellar Seniors
· Maryland has been fortunate to have steady leadership from an eight-member senior class in 2013.

· The class is led by returning IWLCA National Midfielder of the Year Katie Schwarzmann and IWLCA National Defender of the Year Iliana Sanza.

· The class has helped Maryland to four ACC championships, three NCAA Final Four berths and an incredible 84-7 record.

Aust, Howard Sweep ACC Weekly Awards
· Maryland senior attacker Alex Aust and senior goalkeeper Kasey Howard were named Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Lacrosse Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, for their work against Princeton and Dartmouth.

· Aust tallied nine goals and five assists in a pair of wins for No. 1 Maryland last week to help the squad complete an unbeaten home regular season slate. Against No. 13 Princeton on Wednesday, the senior was one of four Terps to tally a hat trick and also added a ground ball and a caused turnover in a 15-9 win over the Tigers.

· Howard recorded 16 saves in two wins over Princeton and Dartmouth last week. She registered six stops against the Tigers Wednesday and tallied her fifth double-digit save performance of the year with 10 saves against Dartmouth on Sunday.

#Operation2k – A Success!
· The Terps set a new attendance record for a lacrosse game at the FH & Lax Complex with a crowd of 2,347 against North Carolina.

· The mark bested the previous top crowd of 2,214 against North Carolina in 2007.

Schwarzmann Named ACC Offensive Player of the Week
· Katie Schwarzmann was named Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Lacrosse Co-Offensive Player of the Week, for her work against No. 2 North Carolina.

· Schwarzmann led Maryland with five goals in a 14-13 victory over No. 2 North Carolina on Saturday to clinch at least a share of the ACC regular season championship. The senior hit 5-of-6 shots on the day.

· It is the seventh career weekly award for Schwarzmann, who has five offensive honors and two defensive honors.

Schwarzmann Snags Career Goal #200
· With her second tally in a five-goal showing at Towson, Katie Schwarzmann became only the fourth player in Maryland history to record 200 career goals.

Be the Best? Play the Best.
· 13 of Maryland’s 22 wins this season have come against nationally-ranked opponents.

· The Terps have recorded eight wins against top-10 ranked foes and four in the top five, including North Carolina (2) and Syracuse (2).

Schwarzmann Snags ACC Weekly Honor
· Katie Schwarzmann was named Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week, for her work against Boston College and Stony Brook.

· Schwarzmann was key in No. 1 Maryland’s defense on the weekend as the Terps held back-to-back opponents to a combined eight goals on just 16 shots. Schwarzmann marked Boston College’s Mikaela Rix, holding her to one shot and zero goals in the 13-5 win over the Eagles.

· The native of Sykesville, Md., was also tasked with defending No. 18 Stony Brook’s Demmianne Cook, who entered the week as the nation’s leading goal scorer. Schwarzmann held Cook without a goal or shot in an 8-3 victory. The reigning Tewaaraton Award winner also added four goals and two assists on the weekend.

Balanced Attack Leads Terps Past #7 Penn State
· A total of 10 Terrapins registered at least one goal Saturday as the No. 1 Maryland women’s lacrosse team handled No. 7 Penn State 20-10 at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.

· Maryland was led in scoring by Alex Aust and Brooke Griffin who tallied four goals apiece as the Terps turned in one of their most complete performances of the young season. Aust added four assists and now has 38 points in the last four games. The senior is one of only eight players in program history to record 100 assists.

· Freshman Taylor Cummings added five points on two goals and three assists.

Aust Snags ACC Weekly Honors Again
· Maryland attacker Alex Aust has been named Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Lacrosse Co-Offensive Player of the Week for her work against UMBC and Penn State.

· Aust, the reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Week, notched 19 points in a pair of wins against UMBC and No. 7 Penn State. Against the Retrievers, the senior from Sterling, Va., racked up a career-best 11 points – one shy of the Terrapin single-game record – including a program record seven assists.

Potent Offense
· Maryland is outscoring foes an incredible 330-180 this season. The Terps are averaging 15.2 goals per game.

· The offense has tacked 20 goals on the scoreboard twice in 2013.

Quick Shooters
· Maryland has scored first in 16 of 22 games in 2013.

· Three times the Terps have scored within the first 45 seconds of the game, including twice with less than 20 seconds elapsed.

Aust Racks up ACC, National Honors
· Maryland attacker Alex Aust was named Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week and Nike National Player of the Week for her effort against Virginia and Hofstra.

· Aust racked up 19 points in two games to help No. 1 Maryland stay perfect in 2013. The senior tallied five goals and five assists as the Terrapins defeated No. 6 Virginia 18-10 on the road for their third-straight win over a top-10 foe. The 10-point total is tied for the third highest in Maryland single-game history.

·Aust tallied five goals and five assists – tying the third-highest point total in Terrapin single-game history – as Maryland dropped its third straight top-10 ranked foe. Sophomore Kristen Lamon added a career-best four goals.

·The Terps have now scored 15 or more goals in each of their four games this season. Taylor Cummings boasted a team-high seven draw controls as Maryland picked up its seventh straight win over the Cavaliers.

· The senior has 273 points in her career and her 131 assists are third all-time in Maryland career annals.

· She nearly beat her freshman point total (9g, 3a) versus UMBC alone (4g, 7a) this season. She had more points through six games in 2013 (43) than she did her entire sophomore season (42).

Road Warriors
· 11 of Maryland’s 22 wins this season have come on the road.

Terps Drop #4 Duke in Home Opener
· Brooke Griffin notched three goals and two assists to lead the No. 2 Maryland women’s lacrosse team past No. 4 Duke 15-6 at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.

·The Terps were sparked by a 9-2 first-half advantage and ended the home opener with five unanswered goals to stay unbeaten in 2013. In addition to Griffin, Katie Schwarzmann, Alex Aust, Taylor Cummings, and Beth Glaros each added two goals to lead the offense.

Griffin Named ACC Player of the Week
· Maryland midfielder Brooke Griffin was named Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Week Tuesday for her work in the Terps’ victory against No. 4 Duke.

· Griffin, a redshirt sophomore from Annapolis, Md., tallied a game-high five points on three goals and two assists to help the Terps remain perfect in 2013 and drop its second-consecutive top-five ranked opponent.

Howard at Home in Cage
· Kasey Howard has been steady as a rock at goalie for Maryland this season.

· The first year starter has allowed 167 goals while tallying 126 saves in 2013. She’s recorded double-digit saves five times, including a career-best 14 against No. 7 Penn State and most recently 10 against Dartmouth.

Protect This House
· Maryland is 72-2 at home under head coach Cathy Reese.

· The Terps have won all five games in which they have played an opponent ranked No. 1 or 2 at home in the past six seasons. The Terps are 211-16 in College Park dating back to 1990 with 13 perfect seasons in that span.

Head Coach Cathy Reese
· A national champion as a student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach, Cathy Reese returns for her seventh season at the helm of the prestigious Terp program. Here are just a few of her highlights with the Terps.

Reese Notes:
• 2010 IWLCA National Coach of the Year
• 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 ACC Coach of the Year
• 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 ACC Champions
• Coached 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 ACC Player of the Year, 2009 and 2010 ACC Rookie of the Year, two Tewaaraton Award winners, seven Tewaaraton finalists, 27 All-Americans, and 26 All-ACC selections
• 2006 MPSF Coach of the Year
• 2009, 2010 and 2011 IWLCA South Region Coach of the Year
• Guided Denver to school-record 16 wins in 2006
• Won eight national championships at Maryland as a player and coach (1995-2001, 2010)
• 1998 NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player

The Terps (19-0) were led by hat tricks from Brooke Griffin, Beth Glaros and Taylor Cummings. Katie Schwarzmann – who was named ACC Championship Most Valuable Player for the second straight season – tied a championship game record with four assists against the Tar Heels (14-3).

A tightly-contested first half began with both teams feeling out the wet conditions at Fetzer. It would be Maryland who would strike first with a Griffin goal at 27:00. North Carolina answered exactly three minutes later with a tally from Abbey Friend. Maryland’s rookie tandem put the Terps back on top with a Cummings goal from Halle Majorana at 17:47.

UNC’s Brittany Coppa and Kara Cannizzaro gave the Heels their first lead of the game with scores at 16:39 and 10:38 but Maryland surged ahead with three unanswered goals to cap the half with a 5-3 advantage at the break.

Kasey Howard led a solid defensive stand in the first half, tallying seven saves in the first 30 minutes alone.

The Terps kept that momentum rolling into the second, with three additional unanswered goals in the first five minutes of the stanza – including two from Griffin – for a decisive 8-3 advantage.

UNC finally stopped the scoring stretch with a goal from Emily Garrity at 24:11 but goals by Alex Aust, Griffin and Erin Collins extended the Maryland lead to 11-4. The Terps recorded six goals in the first 11 minutes of the period.

After a Cummings goal gave Maryland an eight-goal cushion with 14 minutes left, UNC recorded four straight to shrink the lead to five but the Terps held on for their 10th ACC tournament crown.

Maryland recorded a season-high 29 ground balls in arguably its best defensive performance of the year. Kelly McPartland, Iliana Sanza, Melissa Diepold and Cummings registered four apiece.

“I’m just so proud of this team and especially our senior class,” head coach Cathy Reese, who led Maryland to a fourth-straight win against Carolina in the title game, said. “We knew it was going to be a battle. You have two very talented teams playing against each other. I thought we played a great game defensively, probably the best we’ve played all season defensively. On offense, we were pretty smart with our decision making, especially in the second half, which allowed us to pull away with the win.”

In addition to Schwarzmann, Beth Glaros, Aust, Griffin, Cummings, and Howard were tabbed to the all-tournament team.

Maryland has next weekend off before it discovers its NCAA tournament destiny when the bracket is announced Sunday, May 5.